Mate its not all doom n gloom. Yes its very expensive. All part of protecting there own I guess. Im over in the UK now and there are lots of jobs here still for experienced people. Yes you can get work low time also with operators like FlyBE, Air Southwest, Aurigney, Logan and a few others.
Easyjet are doing a TRSS now (check the website) and Ryanair are bonding now instead. The industry over here is full of daddies little rich kids who can afford to pay the large sums. Sadly this doesn't mean that the best people for the job are chosen. There is nothing worse than sitting next to a spoilt brat.
The money is good here but the cost of living kills it.
Your best bet is to ring international directries in Oz and get the UK CAA number for flight crew licencing and ask them for the relevant paper work and details. I did that 3 years ago and it was invaluable. You don't wait in a hold for hours on end anymore either. The service is actually quite good. Not bad for government work.
Hope this helps.